Being Polish and meeting a number of other Poles in Western New York I must say that I have never met a prouder group of people. At the appropriate festivities we draped ourselves in "Proud to be Polish" tee shirts and buttons, as all the Polish Prince and Princesses celebrate and embrace their heritage like no other. And with good reason, as there is much rich history and tradition in Poland which should be recognized and celebrated.
As many know the population of Western New York has a very large Polish community. But what many don't know is how or why many of them came to settle in Buffalo. Over the weekend the Polish Legacy Project (an organization that devotes much attention to the preservation of Polish history) held of conference marking the 70th anniversary of Poland being invaded by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and the start of World War II. At first thought it may seem like a strange thing to celebrate, you may ask "Why would you celebrate Poland getting invaded?", but you must recognize why it is being celebrated. It marks an important time in history for Poland and the world alike. What the Polish Legacy Project in trying to do is preserve that history with the facts before they are forever forgotten. Facts and stories that aren't talked about in the classroom or shied away from due to ignorance. Chairman, Andrew Golebiowski, and a number of others with the Project recognize this and are determined to see that nothing is forgotten.
The very first annual international conference titled, Untold Stories Come Alive: Poland to Buffalo through World War II, was held on both Saturday October 3rd and Sunday October 4th. Saturdays agenda, which was the most involved, consisted of history lessons and special presentations from those who survived the journey from the homeland to Western New York. Held at WNED studios in downtown Buffalo a room full of eager participants awaited to hear the struggles and determination of the Polish survivors whose heartbreaking stories quieted the room as all ears were seeking to hear every detail. With a panel of five survivors, Mr. Zdzislaw Goralski, Mr. Stanislaw Markut, Mrs. Krystyna Romaniak Pieńkowska, Mrs. Julia Swacha Senko and Mr. Henryk Ścigała, with moderator Hon. Carl Bucki, stories and emotions were relived through their words as they described the sentiment of their experiences. Mr. Goralski at 19 years old joined the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. He felt an obligation to join the uprising after seeing his city destroyed and neighbors murdered by the Nazis when he was a young man at 14 years old. After being liberated by the U.S. Army he served in the Polish Guard until 1957 when he immigrated to Buffalo. Mr. Markut was deported like many via cattle trains out of Poland and forced to hard labor in northern Russia. After being liberated from the Soviets he joined the Polish Army, fought on D-Day and was burnt in a tank battle at Falaise. Mrs. Pieńkowska also was transported via cattle train and relocated in Kazakhstan. Settling in Buffalo after serving in the Polish Air Force, I couldn't believe that the reason she usually didn't share her stories was because a neighbor of hers didn't believe the story. She described the wretched sanitation conditions on the train. When asked by Hon. Bucki to share her memories about it she seemed a bit embarrassed or hesitant to reveal what it was like. But with a little encouragement she continued to describe the overcrowded train and how she fell into the hole which was considered a toilet with no where to wash. Seems to be a miracle to her how she survived the ordeal with such a scarce food supply and freezing temperatures. As she spoke of her arrival in Buffalo, I could almost imagine the feeling of reprieve as she saw the happy people walking through the street as she then felt it was the place to stay. Mrs. Senko had one of the most emotional stories as she told about how her and her family hid from Nazi's in the tall wheat fields of her village in Poland. They were captured by the Nazi's and held at gunpoint while the solider awaited orders to execute. She believed the sobbing of her and her family convinced the commanding officer to spare them their lives and were instead shipped to a concentration camp. After being in the concentration camp then sent to Laar, Germany to work on local farms they were eventually liberated by the U.S. Army and immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 where a new life awaited her. And Finally, Mr. Ścigała. He also was shipped in cattle trains and forced into labor in a lumber yard. As Hitler turned on the Soviets he was released traveling to the Middle East where he trained and served in the 12th Polish Podolian Lancers. After being wounded in battle he resided in English where he married eventually immigrating to Chicago in 1959.
The survivors were then honored at a mass in historic Polonia's Corpus Christi Church on Sunday October 4th followed by the documentary film "Exiles" which played at the Dom Polski Hall on Broadway.
Truly incredible stories to hear from the mouths of those who experienced it. One couldn't even imagine the torture and struggle for survival as they wondered if they were going to live through these events. When asked what the survivors learned from the experience they offered very subtle advice like "never forget who you are", "no more wars" or "no unjust wars". Which made some sense to me but experiencing things as they went through maybe they could have gave more of a life lesson. But in the same sense maybe that's all you need to know. Maybe there isn't a big picture or answer to surviving tragedy, you just never loose hope or yourself and understand your options through hard times.
Bravo to the the Polish Legacy Project for making their vision come to life and taking charge to preserve an important part of Polish history. It is a part of Poland's history that not only should be known by Poles but history buffs and students around the globe. Everyone deserves the privilege of knowledge of where they come from and how ancestors ended up geographically where they did. These stories are as important as any other and are very relevant to the way today's world is. It is a true uprising of Polonia to restore facts of an almost forgotten part of heritage.
04 October 2009
13 September 2009
The Old Pink
When that bar is mentioned you either quiver with the thought of being there or you're aroused by the mere thought of going there on a late, very late, weekend night. It's never just an okay type of bar, you either love it or hate it. Now, I cannot say that I have never had a good time there but I can say that it's overrated. If you ever go there sober which is a hard feat to accomplish considering you're completely drunk before someone shouts in a convincing tone like it's the best idea they could think of, "Hey! Let's go to the Pink!", everyone has heard it before and you accept the friends proposal. And it does sound like a good idea, for some reason you're thinking "Yeah, The Pink, now that's not a bad idea". But you know it is. Going that extra mile for the night thinking how the night is just going to blossom once you cross that rotted out threshold of the bar. Then all you witness is people stumbling around talking about whatever enters in thought, clinging to the lips and hips of whoever will realize they're alive and crossing their finger that they'll be held for the night.
Now I may sound like I'm judging the Pink a little too harshly. There are some pros to this bar. Though it's a little though to scavenge for them. Everyone knows everyone there, everyone seems to be friends, if you haven't seen somebody for a while and you know they are a drinker chances are you'll be surprised as you bump into them as you try to navigate through the crowd to the original group you arrived with. Pro, on Halloween the DJ always dresses up as Tony Clifton which is the best impersonation ever. I've been told it has the longest bar in Buffalo, that doesn't seem like much but an interesting tidbit if you like facts of Buffalo. And that's all I got right now. Other than that I feel like it's a waste of time going down there and it drags a good night down because chances are you're having a better time at the bar you were at before it. And as the clock strokes four in the morning lights go on as the bar closes everyone sees what they really look like all hammered out of there minds, flee the area hoping that no one was sober enough to see them at there lowest point and next week will be another day fishing for a mate.
The Pink has now reached somewhat of a cult status in Buffalo and has toned down the rambunctious behavior over the years. I remember going there when I was nineteen not even getting check for proof of age, drinking and even smoking indoors well after New York State passed the Smoke Free New York Law. Still, I don't get my ID checked as I pass through the doors though I do see others getting proofed and you don't leave the bar with a thin film of cigarette stench on you skin and clothing. The Pink is definitely not going anywhere though and I feel that it will always have the same essence and following for years to come. I mean where else is everyone going to go at three thirty in the morning, home?
Now I may sound like I'm judging the Pink a little too harshly. There are some pros to this bar. Though it's a little though to scavenge for them. Everyone knows everyone there, everyone seems to be friends, if you haven't seen somebody for a while and you know they are a drinker chances are you'll be surprised as you bump into them as you try to navigate through the crowd to the original group you arrived with. Pro, on Halloween the DJ always dresses up as Tony Clifton which is the best impersonation ever. I've been told it has the longest bar in Buffalo, that doesn't seem like much but an interesting tidbit if you like facts of Buffalo. And that's all I got right now. Other than that I feel like it's a waste of time going down there and it drags a good night down because chances are you're having a better time at the bar you were at before it. And as the clock strokes four in the morning lights go on as the bar closes everyone sees what they really look like all hammered out of there minds, flee the area hoping that no one was sober enough to see them at there lowest point and next week will be another day fishing for a mate.
The Pink has now reached somewhat of a cult status in Buffalo and has toned down the rambunctious behavior over the years. I remember going there when I was nineteen not even getting check for proof of age, drinking and even smoking indoors well after New York State passed the Smoke Free New York Law. Still, I don't get my ID checked as I pass through the doors though I do see others getting proofed and you don't leave the bar with a thin film of cigarette stench on you skin and clothing. The Pink is definitely not going anywhere though and I feel that it will always have the same essence and following for years to come. I mean where else is everyone going to go at three thirty in the morning, home?
07 September 2009
Taste of Culture
Buffalonians normally don't get a chance to experience new culture in their city aside from the usual Polish, German and Italian heritage festivals put on every summer. After tonight at Ani DiFranco's Babeville those who came were definitely transcended into the culture of the New Orleans jazz heritage.
The event took place over the whole weekend extending from September 5th to the 7th, screenings took place of the highly acclaimed documentary "Trouble The Water" at Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre and ending at Nietzsches Sunday night. The ticket for this event was a little pricey being 40 dollars for the whole weekend or 25 dollars for the Labor Day Party at Babeville, which may have scared some away. However, the cause for this event was for the youth of the city. The proceeds went to charity for The South Buffalo Education Center and Second Line Cities Education Project. Providing education for the out of school youths in the city. A very important cause which should get all the support that it can. And I'll say it while sounding trite, the education of our youth in the city is important. Though I did not get the privilege to see the film (though now netflix queued) this weekend I was glad to have made it to the festival that took place tonight.
On the bill were, Grits Juke Joint, 12/8 Path Band, Brownman Electric Trio and headliners Rebirth Brass Band. Arriving fashionably late I was instantly impressed with the atmosphere of a new culture being experienced. And what a better way to experience it in the heart of downtown Buffalo. The musicians where an excellent pick, either from right here in Buffalo or coming from Toronto and New Orleans they were a talented bunch, full of passion while playing their style. I was most impressed with the 12/8 Path Band as they played in the crowd completely taking everyone to a different place quite figuratively and literally as they marched through Babeville's parking lot leading everyone into Asbury Hall for a memorable music routine in the center of the church's hall. I, as well as others, felt as if I was a part of the band contributing dance routines to express the mood that couldn't be expressed through language.
Although I could go on and on about how great the bands were the point of the night was to experience something new that not many get to experience at all. A taste of culture from a city miles away from here. Not only with the music but also local restaurant, Lagniappe's, provided a fine Cajun style crawfish dish a traditional cuisine of New Orleans. And if you missed it, you missed learning something new about others or maybe even yourself, you missed an experience and missed helping a cause for the future of your community. Now you may need to travel one thousand miles, spend more than 25 dollars and not help your community to experience what you could have experienced right in your own backyard.
The event took place over the whole weekend extending from September 5th to the 7th, screenings took place of the highly acclaimed documentary "Trouble The Water" at Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre and ending at Nietzsches Sunday night. The ticket for this event was a little pricey being 40 dollars for the whole weekend or 25 dollars for the Labor Day Party at Babeville, which may have scared some away. However, the cause for this event was for the youth of the city. The proceeds went to charity for The South Buffalo Education Center and Second Line Cities Education Project. Providing education for the out of school youths in the city. A very important cause which should get all the support that it can. And I'll say it while sounding trite, the education of our youth in the city is important. Though I did not get the privilege to see the film (though now netflix queued) this weekend I was glad to have made it to the festival that took place tonight.
On the bill were, Grits Juke Joint, 12/8 Path Band, Brownman Electric Trio and headliners Rebirth Brass Band. Arriving fashionably late I was instantly impressed with the atmosphere of a new culture being experienced. And what a better way to experience it in the heart of downtown Buffalo. The musicians where an excellent pick, either from right here in Buffalo or coming from Toronto and New Orleans they were a talented bunch, full of passion while playing their style. I was most impressed with the 12/8 Path Band as they played in the crowd completely taking everyone to a different place quite figuratively and literally as they marched through Babeville's parking lot leading everyone into Asbury Hall for a memorable music routine in the center of the church's hall. I, as well as others, felt as if I was a part of the band contributing dance routines to express the mood that couldn't be expressed through language.
Although I could go on and on about how great the bands were the point of the night was to experience something new that not many get to experience at all. A taste of culture from a city miles away from here. Not only with the music but also local restaurant, Lagniappe's, provided a fine Cajun style crawfish dish a traditional cuisine of New Orleans. And if you missed it, you missed learning something new about others or maybe even yourself, you missed an experience and missed helping a cause for the future of your community. Now you may need to travel one thousand miles, spend more than 25 dollars and not help your community to experience what you could have experienced right in your own backyard.
23 August 2009
Motivation for the Unmotivated
Motivation, it's defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as to provide with an incentive; move to action; impel. People know what this word means and most might describe it simply as a self driven impulse to get a job done whether it be something in the workplace or personal life. The seminar held at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York just last week had an agenda with big names speaking about their accomplishments in the work place, finances and promised to motivate or shed some light on to the Average Joe who's assumed attitude was a little less than motivated. I had the opportunity to attend this seminar with mixed feelings about it. I wanted to go to the arena with an open mind thinking maybe people will get some good advice from the speakers but as I approached the doors hearing over the loud speaker “you can do it” and other clichéd words of encouragement my open mind quickly closed. The speakers at the seminar were motivated for sure, but it wasn't the motivation to get all the attendees at the seminar to make a better living in their workplace, their motives were to sell you their products or endorse the companies that are paying them to talk about it. What seemed as a seminar for companies to send their unmotivated employees to for advice was actually one big sales pitch for products from the speakers.
This seminar had a lot of promotion before the date, I heard it everyday on the radio on my way to work and they had sent out mail to probably every company in the region. The pricing was right and I'm sure they accommodated to offices that wanted to bring in large groups which made me curious about the two hundred twenty five dollar face value on the ticket, maybe they wanted it to seem like it was worth a lot more than companies actually paid? Anyway, turned out that about fifteen thousand people attended. Fifteen thousand people took the day off a work to listen to the “almighty go getters” and try to change productivity in the work place. I believe that majority of the people there weren't even there to listen but to take the day off thus showing a lack of motivation right there. Upon entering the arena going upstairs to search for a seat almost everyone was taking the escalators and I thought to myself how are people going to get motivated to change their work habits when they're too lazy to exert the extra energy of taking the stairs. Another observation I made was the twenty dollar workbook they were selling to take notes on, luckily I had brought my own pad of paper and pen to take note of the greed that was taking place right there as the vendor shouted “Twenty dollars, get your workbook!”. Some ticket holders did have a voucher coupon on their ticket which got them a workbook free of charge.
They had already began shortly before I got to my seat in the three hundred level which was at the very top of the arena. Not a horrible view as they did have several monitors showing the motivators every movement. The display was exactly as I suspected, very tacky, with a small stage located in the center with flowers bunched up around the sides and lame pyrotechnics every time a new speaker entered the stage. The announcer that introduced and spoke between speeches was obnoxious very loud and using a lot rhetoric to influence the audience to get into the seminar with words like “amazing” or “outstanding”. I took note of her actually saying that “every time we come back to Buffalo..” and I thought to myself how many times do people actually need to listen to these speeches before the get motivated?
There were a total of eleven speaker s at the seminar and there were two that were even worth listening to, Joe Montana and General Colin Powell. Those were probably the only two that weren't trying to sell something and had interesting stories about their lives. Joe Montana shared some football stories and those that inspired him to be one of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks. Colin Powell spoke of his time as Secretary of State and how he had to meet with foreign leaders and communicated country leadership ideas and concerns. For someone so accomplished he seemed pretty down to earth. The rest of the speakers just spoke of things that people should already know, rags to riches stories, overcoming the odds, we've all heard them before I don't think going to a seminar is going to make people realize again how they should be taking charge of their lives and getting things done.
One speaker that really stood out was Tamara Lowe, wife of the CEO of Get Motivated Seminars, Inc. After she revealed that she was a former drug addict and drug dealer with no high school diploma it ruined her credibility. She tried to convince the crowd that since she overcame all her history and is now spewing her life stories on stage she a perfect example of a motivated person. I disagree. There are far more educated people in the world that doesn't have a past of that nature. She exclaimed that since she just received her Master's Degree she will be going from “LSD to Ph.D.” That statement made me cringe in my seat as I started thinking about the people who weren't on drugs getting their Ph.D. Why is she so special just because she used to be an addict? She had tasteless planned jokes as she entertained the crowd with relationship exercises and at the end she left you hanging just enough to promote the book she had coming out this fall. It was a little curious to think that majority of these speakers had a book coming out all around the same time this fall, which means they've probably had this planned for some time now. Those books most likely weren't even written by the speakers and ghost writers were hired to write and they just slapped their well known names on the cover to sell the product.
My opinion about the seminar was that it was way too long. The speakers all had similar stories, it got old quick and the corny song and dance numbers made me laugh out loud. Maybe some people who attended this seminar really got something from the speakers. I find it hard to believe but it's possible. My views on motivation is that it's more individualized, you really need to want something yourself to go after it. Being lectured by some people who have accomplished something really won't change the way you view your current job or lifestyle. Many people want big and better things or had higher expectations but that doesn't mean after attending the seminar they went out and started accomplishing them. People aren't very susceptible to change and once they're locking in grooves of routine it's hard to get out. There are many ways to feel accomplished in life but going to seminars attempting to find out something you don't already know isn't one of them. Motivation isn't something you find from a seminar. People shouldn't be so naive about motivation, research can be done on your own to make ways to better lives. Engaging in small activities and small successes can motivate you to keep going and eventually tackle bigger challenges. All these speakers are doing is taking advantage of the ones that don't have the common sense to start something on their own.
This seminar had a lot of promotion before the date, I heard it everyday on the radio on my way to work and they had sent out mail to probably every company in the region. The pricing was right and I'm sure they accommodated to offices that wanted to bring in large groups which made me curious about the two hundred twenty five dollar face value on the ticket, maybe they wanted it to seem like it was worth a lot more than companies actually paid? Anyway, turned out that about fifteen thousand people attended. Fifteen thousand people took the day off a work to listen to the “almighty go getters” and try to change productivity in the work place. I believe that majority of the people there weren't even there to listen but to take the day off thus showing a lack of motivation right there. Upon entering the arena going upstairs to search for a seat almost everyone was taking the escalators and I thought to myself how are people going to get motivated to change their work habits when they're too lazy to exert the extra energy of taking the stairs. Another observation I made was the twenty dollar workbook they were selling to take notes on, luckily I had brought my own pad of paper and pen to take note of the greed that was taking place right there as the vendor shouted “Twenty dollars, get your workbook!”. Some ticket holders did have a voucher coupon on their ticket which got them a workbook free of charge.
They had already began shortly before I got to my seat in the three hundred level which was at the very top of the arena. Not a horrible view as they did have several monitors showing the motivators every movement. The display was exactly as I suspected, very tacky, with a small stage located in the center with flowers bunched up around the sides and lame pyrotechnics every time a new speaker entered the stage. The announcer that introduced and spoke between speeches was obnoxious very loud and using a lot rhetoric to influence the audience to get into the seminar with words like “amazing” or “outstanding”. I took note of her actually saying that “every time we come back to Buffalo..” and I thought to myself how many times do people actually need to listen to these speeches before the get motivated?
There were a total of eleven speaker s at the seminar and there were two that were even worth listening to, Joe Montana and General Colin Powell. Those were probably the only two that weren't trying to sell something and had interesting stories about their lives. Joe Montana shared some football stories and those that inspired him to be one of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks. Colin Powell spoke of his time as Secretary of State and how he had to meet with foreign leaders and communicated country leadership ideas and concerns. For someone so accomplished he seemed pretty down to earth. The rest of the speakers just spoke of things that people should already know, rags to riches stories, overcoming the odds, we've all heard them before I don't think going to a seminar is going to make people realize again how they should be taking charge of their lives and getting things done.
One speaker that really stood out was Tamara Lowe, wife of the CEO of Get Motivated Seminars, Inc. After she revealed that she was a former drug addict and drug dealer with no high school diploma it ruined her credibility. She tried to convince the crowd that since she overcame all her history and is now spewing her life stories on stage she a perfect example of a motivated person. I disagree. There are far more educated people in the world that doesn't have a past of that nature. She exclaimed that since she just received her Master's Degree she will be going from “LSD to Ph.D.” That statement made me cringe in my seat as I started thinking about the people who weren't on drugs getting their Ph.D. Why is she so special just because she used to be an addict? She had tasteless planned jokes as she entertained the crowd with relationship exercises and at the end she left you hanging just enough to promote the book she had coming out this fall. It was a little curious to think that majority of these speakers had a book coming out all around the same time this fall, which means they've probably had this planned for some time now. Those books most likely weren't even written by the speakers and ghost writers were hired to write and they just slapped their well known names on the cover to sell the product.
My opinion about the seminar was that it was way too long. The speakers all had similar stories, it got old quick and the corny song and dance numbers made me laugh out loud. Maybe some people who attended this seminar really got something from the speakers. I find it hard to believe but it's possible. My views on motivation is that it's more individualized, you really need to want something yourself to go after it. Being lectured by some people who have accomplished something really won't change the way you view your current job or lifestyle. Many people want big and better things or had higher expectations but that doesn't mean after attending the seminar they went out and started accomplishing them. People aren't very susceptible to change and once they're locking in grooves of routine it's hard to get out. There are many ways to feel accomplished in life but going to seminars attempting to find out something you don't already know isn't one of them. Motivation isn't something you find from a seminar. People shouldn't be so naive about motivation, research can be done on your own to make ways to better lives. Engaging in small activities and small successes can motivate you to keep going and eventually tackle bigger challenges. All these speakers are doing is taking advantage of the ones that don't have the common sense to start something on their own.
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